york city, one of the first and most successful pilot projects for girls public schools with which i know the presiding officer is very familiar. and i remember the time i invited senator barbara mikulski to texas, because she and i have worked together supporting for so many years, and this year have been, she chair, and i ranking members of the appropriations subcommittee. we went to visit the johnson space center because i wanted her to see the great work they are doing there. and then i took her to the houston rodeo, because i wanted her to see the texas culture. well, i'm not sure that the senator who grew up in the inner city of baltimore knew exactly how people would dress at the rodeo, but suffice it to say, there were a lot of rhinestones and cowboy boots and big hair and big hats. senator mikulski whispered to me during this time, kay, if we were here monday and we went to the chamber of commerce, do these people look like this? and i said, yes, pretty much. so senator mikulski and i also teamed up to pass the homemaker ira, to make sure that our stay-at-home moms and dads